Training center to get dormitories

November 20, 2013

HARPERS FERRY - A major contract has been awarded for the construction of 250-room student dormitories and a student center at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Advanced Training Center in Harpers Ferry.

The $51,784,000 contract award was announced in a news release by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., on Tuesday.

"The addition of dormitories and a student center will help transform the facility into a full-service training campus for its students," Rockefeller said in the release. "When completed in mid-2016, students will be able to stay on the campus for extended periods of time and get the training they need, which will save the federal government millions of dollars in training and travel expenses."

Article Photos

Journal photo by Mary Stortstrom

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Advanced Training Center’s current facility in Harpers Ferry. A contract has been awarded for the construction of 250-room student dormitories and a student center.

The contract solicitation states the construction, for an approximately 173,085-square-foot conference center and dormitories, will cost between $25 million and $100 million. McTech Corporation, based in Cleveland, is the contractor.

According to the release, more than 12,000 frontline customs officers are trained at the center annually, on critical skills such as firearms usage and language studies.

Rockefeller said he worked closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to get funding for the contract, and also secured funding in the FY 2014 Senate Homeland Security Appropriations bill to support operations at the ATC.

Approximately 200 federal staff and contractors work at the ATC, and the number of federal staff is expected to increase as the agency works to consolidate existing training programs and develop new centers of excellence.

In 2010, Rockefeller announced a construction contract for the ATC to add a dining hall and high-tech security facilities at its Harpers Ferry campus. The projects were recently completed.

"This center is on the cutting edge of education and training for Customs and Border Protection personnel who play an essential role in defending our country," Rockefeller said in the release. "West Virginia is so proud of this facility and all the men and women who work and train there. I am committed to strengthening our homeland security facilities and making sure they have the resources necessary to keep our nation safe."